He poured cold water on speculation that he had met with Amazon boss Jeff Bezos saying “I have not spoken to Amazon in three years.”

The retailer, which has changed its year-end from March to August, said it has made a pro forma underlying pre-tax profit of £44.5m – up by 40 per cent compared with the same period last year. Group revenues rose 37 per cent to £553m, driven by a 64 per cent jump in international sales to £333m. UK retail sales also proved resilient, up 10 per cent to £205m.

Robertson plans in 12 months to have launched language websites in Russia and China as well as warehouses to hold stock so that customers can get their deliveries faster. Russia and China currently account for seven per cent of sales.